Edward Craven Walker
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| Edward Craven Walker | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 4, 1918 Singapore |
| Died | August 15, 2000 London |
| Occupation | Inventor |
| Spouse(s) | Marjorie Bevan Jones |
Edward Craven Walker (July 4, 1918 – August 15, 2000) was the inventor of the psychedelic Astro Lamp, known as the Lava Lamp in the U.S.
Contents |
[edit] War Record
Craven was as a pilot in World War II, flying a DeHavilland Mosquito over Germany to take photographs from an unarmed plane. He met his first wife, Marjorie Bevan Jones, at an air base where she was with the WAAF. Craven continued flying after the war.
[edit] Genesis of Astro Lamp
After the war Craven developed an idea he had in a country pub. The pub had a contraption made by a regular who had since departed, a one-off device consisting of an egg-timer and a lightbulb. While it was rudimentary, Craven saw potential and set about perfecting it. He set up a lab in a small shed where he mixed ingredients in bottles of different shapes and sizes. He discovered the best container was a Tree Top Orange Squash bottle and its shape defined the Astro Lamp.
[edit] The Astro Lamp Industry
Craven set up a company to produce the lamps, naming it Crestworth. Operating from small buildings on an industrial estate in Poole, Dorset, Crestworth supplied the world with lamps for 40 years. They were a success through the 1960s, symbolic of psychedelia. Craven said, "If you buy my lamp, you won't need drugs... I think it will always be popular. It is like the cycle of life. It grows, breaks up, falls down and then starts all over again".
In the 70s the BBC claimed some chemicals in the Astro Lamp were toxic. The Astro Lamp's success was destroyed. Crestworth all but closed.
[edit] Later Years
In the early 1990s, a young couple began manufacturing and selling them successfully. Cressida Granger and David Mulley approached Craven and took over running the company and renamed it Mathmos in 1992. They had the rights to produce Astro Lamps and continued to manufacture in the same location, using almost the same staff.
[edit] Naturism
Walker was a naturist, setting up his own camp at Matchams in Hampshire. It became one of the largest in the United Kingdom. Craven's passion created unrest in his life and and was a contributory reason for his divorce from Marjorie, with whom he had 3 children. Craven married 4 times. Craven attempted to ban obese individuals from his naturist resort, arguing that obesity defied ideals based on a healthy spiritual and physical life.
[edit] Film Work
Craven combined film with naturism. In the 50s and 60s nudity in film was taboo but he evaded censors by not showing pubic hair. As a result he became a pioneer in this genre. Under the pseudonym Michael Keatering, Craven directed the naturist film Travelling Light (1959). This was the first naturist film to receive public release in the UK. Described as an underwater ballet, it was shot off Corsica and released in 1960. He later produced Sunswept (1961) and Eves on Skis (1963).
[edit] Death
Toward the end of the 1990s, Craven battled with cancer. He died at Matchams in Ringwood, Hampshire and was buried in a small cemetery in the New Forest. He was 82.
[edit] Further reading
- Cinema Au Naturel: A History of Nudist Film by Mark Storey. Published by Naturist Education Foundation (July 1, 2003)
[edit] External links
- CNN Obituary
- History of Lava Lamps Background story on the history of Craven Walker's invention at Oozing Goo.
- BBC.co.uk - The Mystique of the Lava Lamp
- Mathmos
